Well, please turn with me in your Bibles to Proverbs chapter 3. Proverbs chapter 3. I'll read verses 11 to 12 and then pray. Proverbs 3.11, my son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest his correction. For whom the Lord loves, he corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father, we thank You for this text. We thank You for Your involvement in our lives, for Your sovereign government over us. And God, we know at times that means discipline, it means correction. So give us the grace and the help to receive Solomon's words here. Help us not to despise nor detest Your involvement, Your chastening hand in our lives, but help us to embrace it and to realize that You mean good in all that You do on our behalf. Again, forgive us for our sins and our transgressions, fill us with your Holy Spirit, and grant us the help now to receive, with thanksgiving, your glorious Word. And we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, in many respects, this is a bit of a follow-up or a part two to the Wednesday night Bible study. If you were not present on Wednesday night, I think you'll still be able to follow the message. But essentially, we looked at the believer and trials in James chapter 1, verses 2 to 8. And essentially, James tells the people of God to count it all joy when they fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. God has remedial ends in the trials, the tests, and the difficulties that His people go through. And as we look at this particular text, we ought to recognize that there are times, not all trials, and not all tests, and not all afflictions, and not all things that we go through are directly connected to our sin. But there are those seasons or there are those times where God does chasten us, where God does discipline us, where God does correct us for our sin, and this text sets that forth. And so we need to understand what Solomon is saying. And I want to look first at the exposition of Proverbs 3, 11 and 12 right here in the context, but then secondly, the application of Proverbs 3, 11 and 12 in the book of Hebrews, in Hebrews chapter 12. Paul appeals to this to make the same point in a situation involving New Covenant Christians. Just at the outset, see how the authoritative, inspired, infallible, and inerrant Word of God speaks to the people of God. An Old Testament book like Proverbs is invoked as Holy Scripture, the voice of the living God to blood-bought children of our Lord Jesus Christ in the New Covenant. Let's look first of all at the prohibition and then secondly the reason under the exposition of Proverbs 3, 11, and 12. Solomon writes, My son do not despise the chasing of the Lord, nor detest his correction. I want us to see the context. Go back for just a moment to verses 9 and 10. He says, honor the Lord with your possessions and with the first fruits of all your increase. So your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine. Matthew Henry says his exhortation before, verses nine and 10, was to those that are rich and in prosperity. Here, verses 11 and 12, to those that are poor and in adversity. And as the Bible tells us, God is responsible for both prosperity and adversity in the lives of his people. So there is a prohibition given by Solomon. It's twofold and it's repetitive. And the repetition is to underscore the seriousness of it. Notice that he says, My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest his correction. Eliphaz to Job in Job 5.17 makes the same point. Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects, therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty. Those friends didn't get everything wrong, it was rather the application, it was rather some of the implication, rather some of the practical exhortation given to Job. But in terms of their theology, Eliphaz is absolutely right, and he joins the ranks with Solomon to tell us to not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest His correction. Now, this is God's purpose or God's way in the lives of His people. The specific thing that Solomon tells us of is that chastening of the Lord. If you go back to the book of Deuteronomy, just so you can see that this is God's practice with His children in the Old Covenant, namely Israel. In Deuteronomy chapter 8 at verse 5, you should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you. And then again in Deuteronomy chapter 11, Deuteronomy 11, beginning in verse one. Therefore you shall love the Lord your God and keep his charge, his statutes, his judgments, and his commandments always. Know today that I do not speak with your children who have not known and who have not seen the chastening of the Lord your God, his greatness and his mighty hand and his outstretched arm, his signs and his acts, which he did in the midst of Egypt, the Pharaoh king of Egypt and to all his land. Moses, there, under God, is exhorting the people to faithfulness. And one of the things that God says is that, I'm not speaking to the children, rather, I'm speaking to you, those who have seen and witnessed the chastening of the Lord. This is God's way with His people. We need to be chastened. We need to be corrected. We need to be rebuked. We need to be reproved. And Solomon says, when this happens, we're not to despise it, nor are we to detest it, but we are to recognize God's sovereign purposes in it, one, for His glory, and two, for our well-being. Now, certainly we're going to spend some time later in Hebrews chapter 12, but also in Revelation chapter 3, the Lord Christ to the church in Laodicea says, as many as I love, I chasten. As many as I love, the church in Laodicea, that church that was neither hot nor cold, that church that was lukewarm, that church that the Lord Christ had threatened to spew out of his mouth. Nevertheless, he says he's come to them in that tone and in that manner out of love. It was born out of love. So Solomon says to us that we are not to despise, we are not to detest the very correction or the chastening hand of our God. Matthew Henry says it is the chastening of the Lord, which as it is a reason why we should submit to it, the very fact that it's called the chastening of the Lord, Henry says is an argument as to why we ought to submit. He says, as it is a reason why we should submit to it, and then he says parenthetically, for it is folly to contend with a God of incontestable sovereignty and irresistible power. In other words, you're never going to win anyway. Don't despise, don't detest, because this is God who is sovereign, who has brought this upon you for your benefit and for your remedy. He goes on to say, so it is a reason why we should be satisfied in it. For he may be sure that a God of unspotted purity does us no wrong and that a God of infinite goodness means us no hurt. It's a beautiful statement. God, a God of unspotted purity, does us no wrong, and that a God of infinite goodness means us no hurt. In other words, we can trust His purposes in our lives. Even if they sting, even if they smart, even if they hurt from time to time, the chasing of the Lord is good, and Solomon prohibits us from despising it or detesting it. Now, as we look through the book of Proverbs, you'll see one of two responses to correction. Typically it's with reference to children to their parents, but ultimately God stationed the parents over the children's lives, so when a child despises the correction of a father or a mother, in turn they are despising the very correction of God Most High. So I just want to scan through some of these Proverbs to show this twofold response to correction and to see how the good response is held out as the norm for the people of God. In other words, you're not to despise, you're not to detest it, but rather you're to embrace it and receive it and find what God would have for you in it and deal with it properly. But in terms of some general teachings with reference to correction given to people, notice in Proverbs 10 at verse 8. Proverbs 10 at verse 8. We'll look at several here. Again, just to underscore, there are one of two ways that we may go when we are corrected. Of course, Solomon says, when the Lord corrects us, when He chastens us, we're not to despise it, we're not to detest it. We're to receive it and we're to embrace it. Proverbs 10.8, the wise in heart will receive commands, but a prating fool will fall. Proverbs 10 and verse 17, he who keeps instruction is in the way of life, but he who refuses correction, he goes astray. So you cannot find in the book of Proverbs any sort of blessing upon the person that rejects or resists good sound counsel. It will never come into your reading where Solomon says, it's a good thing to get a counselor and to have good things spoken to you, but go ahead and reject it. Go ahead and despise it. Go ahead and do something absolutely contrary to that or opposite. No. The blessed man is the man who receives correction. The blessed man is the man who puts these things into practice. Notice Proverbs 12, 1. Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid. Proverbs 13 and verse 18. Proverbs 13 and verse 18, poverty and shame will come to him who disdains correction, but he who regards a rebuke will be honored. Again, we're not teasing out all the implications of what happens if you in fact do reject, but just showing there's one of two ways that a person can respond to correction. You either receive it and are blessed, or you reject it and you are cursed. Those are the options with reference to correction. Notice in Proverbs 15. Proverbs 15 at verse 5, a fool despises his father's instruction, but he who receives correction is prudent. Over and over again, emphasized, and brethren, as parents, as grandparents, we need to speak wisdom into our children's lives and tell them, if you despise the correction I'm giving you now, that is symptomatic of problems later. In other words, if you train them for insubordination in the home, it ought not to surprise you when they're insubordinate in the workplace. when they're insubordinate in society, when they're insubordinate across the board, when they're insubordinate to the true and living God, because you have trained them to be insubordinate. Brethren, it is our responsibility to take seriously the fifth commandment, not simply to hold it over our children as a threat that they better do what we're telling them, but to see in it our responsibility and our duty to enjoin upon them the necessity to obey their parents in the Lord, for this is right, and to honor their fathers and mothers. Notice in Proverbs 15 at verse 10, harsh discipline is for him who forsakes the way, and he who hates correction will die. It's pretty cotton dry there, isn't it? Well, what do you mean, Solomon? There's no what do you mean, Solomon. If you hate correction, you will die. That is as simple as it gets. Notice in Proverbs 15 at verse 12, a scoffer does not love one who corrects him, nor will he go to the wise. And then in Proverbs 15, 31 and 32, the ear that hears the rebukes of life will abide among the wise. He who disdains instruction despises his own soul, but he who heeds rebukes gets understanding. You see this commendation to be a correctable person, to receive what it is that the Lord has for you, to receive the chastening of God from his hand as something that is beneficial, something you're not supposed to rage against, something you're not to panic under, something you're not supposed to fret over, but rather you're supposed to, in the language of the Puritans, kiss the rod and submit sweetly to God's dealings in your life. Notice in Proverbs 19, Proverbs 19 at verse 20. Listen to counsel and receive instruction that you may be wise in your latter days. Can you see that emphasis? It begins in the nursery. It begins when they're little. Listen to counsel and receive instruction that you may be wise in your latter days. Proverbs 19, 27. Cease listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge. And then Proverbs 29 verse 1, he who is often rebuked and hardens his neck will suddenly be destroyed and that without remedy. It's a powerful statement concerning correction and the rejection of it or the despising or detestation of it. Again, that in the context of child to parent But when we come back to Proverbs chapter 3, the very argument that Solomon uses for us not to despise nor to test God's correction is the father-child relationship. The reason why God chastens us is not because he's a meanie. The reason why God chastens us is not because he's vicious. The reason why God chastens us is because He's our Father. That's the emphasis in Proverbs 3, 11 and 12. So you have the prohibition in the first part, verse 11, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest His correction. And then you have the reason in verse 12, for whom the Lord loves, He corrects, just as a father, the son in whom He delights. So when we come to this whole ordeal, how do we know if we are refusing correction? Well, we'll evidence it in a whole host of ways. One, we'll panic. Two, we'll rage. Three, we'll think hard thoughts about God. Four, we may not even interpret it as something from God for our good and our benefit. I was thinking about this as I was thinking about this particular text. James calling on us in the midst of affliction to ask of God for wisdom is absolutely beautiful. Now, James doesn't need Jim saying, good job, James. But in affliction, in testing, in trial, in chasing, don't we need wisdom? How do we know that this is of God? How do we know it's not a temptation of the devil? How do we know it's not something that just flowed out of our remaining corruption? We need wisdom to process the data. We need wisdom to go to the scripture. We need wisdom to be balanced and appreciate the work of the living God in our lives. We need wisdom to be able to navigate through these uncharted waters. We need the wisdom that James says, God is willing to give to all who ask. He gives it liberally and He will not upbraid us. He will not reproach us. He'll never mock you and say, why are you back for more wisdom? Why are you coming to me for more wisdom? This pleases God when His people ask for wisdom. When Solomon said, I want wisdom, the Lord Most High was delighted in that response on the part of Solomon. We need wisdom so that we're able to interpret properly the things that are going on and so that we are able to submit and we are able to learn and we're able to internalize the lessons that the Lord has for us so that we will come out the other side more and more conformed unto the image of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ. We need that provision of wisdom to enable us to see that chastening is from God, to understand that it is for our good and to help regulate our passions. There was that quote from Manton. I didn't put it into these notes. But Manton says something about wisdom functioning in such a way as to control our passions when we're under these tests, when we're under these trials, and in this case, when we're under this chastening. You know, when you discipline your children, you don't allow them to flip out. You don't allow them to scream. You don't allow them to carry on like they're just losing it. No, they've got to submit. They have to go through it in a particular way. They have to understand the remedy that's involved in all of this, or the good that's involved in all of this, and the same is the case for the people of God. So the argument, or the reason, or the rationale for the chasing that comes to us, do not despise it, nor detest His correction, is verse 12. Whom the Lord loves, He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights. as I've already mentioned, Jesus, to the church in Laodicea. And I keep underscoring that, because if you looked at all those seven churches, Laodicea seems to be about the worst. I mean, they're neither hot nor cold. They have no clue of their true spiritual condition. I mean, they are a mess, and they don't know it. There's an obvious lack of self-awareness on the part of Laodiceans. You always think that the believer, if he's anything, he's self-aware. If he's anything, he's self-aware. He's wretched, and he knows it. He's not holy, and he understands it. He may not embrace it and like that, but the reality is he's somewhat self-aware. You get to that church in Laodicea, they didn't have a clue. In fact, you can turn there because I think it underscores the love motive even more so when we understand just how bad they were. Revelation chapter 3, verse We'll start at verse 15, I know your works that you are neither hot or cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth. Now please don't understand that Jesus would prefer you to be a complete atheist. That's not the analog. That's not what he's emphasizing. He's not saying, I want you to be hot, a vibrant, fervent, earnest Christian, or I want you to just be cold, a wretched, God-hating, God-despising atheist. That's not the point. The point is a lot simpler than that. Hot things in our mouths are good. Cold things in our mouths are good. Lukewarm things are terrible. That's the point, right? Nobody drinks a lukewarm cup of coffee. Nobody drinks a lukewarm cup of water on a hot day. You either want it cold or you want it hot. Not the water, the coffee. That's the point. Jesus is not saying, I'm much more impressed with outright atheism, so go ahead and pursue that. And there were nearby cities, there were nearby places to Laodicea, where I think it was Colossae had the cold refreshing water, and then Hierapolis had the hot sort of healing medicinal water. And so Laodicea basically didn't have their own water supply, so it had to be piped in. By the time the water got to them, it was lukewarm. They were symptomatic of their own city's water supply, and Jesus appeals to them on that level. So then, verse 16, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth. Because you say, here it is, lack of self-awareness, I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing. And do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. Could they have been more wrong? Could they have messed it up more completely than that? I mean, that's as bad as it gets. That is completely contrary and completely opposite what they saw themselves as and what Christ says they really are. You've probably seen that, those memes that say, this is how these people perceive us, this is how people perceive us, and this is how we really are. Well, they think they're godly and upright and holy and righteous. And Jesus says, I'm about to spit you out of my mouth. I am functioning the way the land of Canaan did. The land of Canaan vomited out the godless inhabitants from their midst because they were wicked. Verse 17, because you say I'm rich, I'm sorry, verse 18, I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire that you may be rich, white garments that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed, and anoint your eyes with eye salve that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. It's almost incongruous, isn't it? You almost don't expect that response in verse 19. He's threatened to spit them out of his mouth. He has told them they are absolutely contrary to their own assessment of themselves, and yet this rebuke is born out of love. Why is it that we think any word that is harsh, any word that may be severe, is born out of hate? That is simply not the way it is. When you tell your child, don't put that knife in your body, that's said oftentimes with a tone that may be interpreted harshly, but you are saying it out of love, right? God does that. Jesus does that in this particular context. And he says, as many as I love, I rebuke and chasten, therefore be zealous and repent. So back to Proverbs 3, verse 12, for whom the Lord loves, he corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights. Matthew Henry says, it is a fatherly correction. It comes not from his vindictive justice as judge, but his wise affection as a father. Matthew Poole says, afflictions are not infelicities, but benefits and comforts, because they are testimonies of God's love, which is infinitely more desirable than any evil can be terrible. Let me just read that again, because I think there's a world of good theology in that statement. Because they are testimonies of God's love, which is infinitely more desirable, God's love, than any evil can be terrible. So God's infinite love is far more excellent than the worst evil is terrible. That's good theology. It may be because it's 5.45 on a Sunday night and you might not be as fresh as you may have been this morning. But if you internalize what Matthew Poole says here, you'll say yea and amen to the chasing hand of God Almighty. He says, they show God's purpose and desire and care to purge us from our sins and to make us fit for his presence and kingdom. Turn back to the book of Deuteronomy. We already highlighted the chastening of the Lord toward Israel in chapters eight and 11, but go back further to Deuteronomy chapter one. Deuteronomy chapter one. At verse 29, then I said to you, Do not be terrified or afraid of them. He's rehearsing the wilderness. He's rehearsing the Exodus and the wilderness wanderings. He's rehearsing how God had provided for them in those instances. Then I said to you, verse 29, do not be terrified or afraid of them. The Lord, your God, who goes before you, he will fight for you according to all he did for you in Egypt before your eyes. That's a fatherly function, isn't it? Fighting for his kids. That ought to be a no brainer for any father in here, any mother. You know, any woman that has children is like a mama bear when somebody comes to mess with those kids. She will fight for those children. A father will fight for his children. God does that. And then in verse 31, and in the wilderness where you saw how the Lord your God carried you as a man carries his son in all the way that you went until you came to this place. You see, that's how God acts toward his children. He is like a father to them. He fights for them and protects them. He defends them and cares for them. When they need to be picked up and carried through the wilderness, God the Father picks them up and carries them through the wilderness. You see, the analogy holds, not just in one aspect of chastening, but in the entire complex of God's dealings with his people. But chastening is a part. Discipline is fundamental. The fact is, is that we have sinned, and we need to be corrected. And Solomon's prohibition is that we do not despise it, nor do we detest it. Go back to Proverbs, and just an emphasis on the father, human fathers, emphasis in the discipline of his children. A father doesn't discipline his children because he hates his children. A father disciplines his children for the exact opposite reason. A father disciplines his children because he loves them. He doesn't want them to go astray. He doesn't want them to run amok. He doesn't want them to end up in hell. And so a good father, good mothers, discipline their children. There is remedial benefit involved. And if the father of the children, in terms of church, does this, it's for remedial benefit. It is for help, it is for good. Look at Proverbs 13 and verse 24. Proverbs 13, 24, he who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly. If you being evil men love to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask? If we as fathers discipline our children, and that's born out of love, will not our heavenly Father who loves perfectly discipline his children? and it be born out of love? Absolutely. The chastening hand of God is an evidence and a manifestation of the love of God toward us. Proverbs 19 and verse 18. Proverbs 19 and verse 18. Chasten your son while there is hope and do not set your heart on his destruction. See, it's not the case that parents discipline their children because parents are mean, because parents are vindictive, because parents are nasty and vile creatures. Certainly, parents possess those particular attributes, but for the most part, when they're dealing with their children, they try and exercise their pressure in love. And that's the emphasis from Solomon here. Proverbs 22, 15. Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child. The rod of correction will drive it far from him. Why do you discipline your children? Because I don't want them to be a fool. Why do you discipline your children? Because I want them to succeed. Why do you discipline your children? Because I love them. That's the emphasis in the book of Proverbs. Proverbs 23, 13 and 14. Proverbs 23, 13 and 14, do not withhold correction from a child. For if you beat him with a rod, he will not die. You shall beat him with a rod. And notice what you do. You deliver his soul from hell. This does not mean salvation by the rod, but rather it means that you put God first in the raising of your children. What is most important is their never-dying soul. You are not going to kowtow to the prevailing wisdom of the age and engage in lawlessness with reference to parenting. You love your children, so you're going to parent them the way that God commands you to love them. And that includes chastening. That includes discipline. Proverbs 29.17. Proverbs 29.17. At the end of this study on Proverbs, you'll probably all be able to say, well, at least I know where Proverbs talks about disciplining children. That's a good thing. Proverbs 29, 17, correct your son and he will give you rest. Yes, he will give delight to your soul. So all of that to highlight that as earthly fathers discipline their children, it is born out of love. So when the heavenly father disciplines us, it is born out of love. Now let's turn to Hebrews 12 to see a new covenant application of this passage to the saints. Hebrews chapter 12, the context. The believer is encouraged, exhorted to run with endurance the race that is set before us. Notice in verse 1, toward the end of verse 1, here's the exhortation. Here's what Paul wants the people of God to receive. Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. That's the emphasis of much of the book of Hebrews. Many, many times, the people of God in the book of Hebrews are exhorted and encouraged to run, to be persevering, to be enduring, to be a people of patience, to be a people that fight, a people that go forward, a people that are engaged and earnest and run with endurance the race that is set before us. And then the apostle gives several incentives on this running. And the first incentive is, of course, the Lord Jesus Christ. The second is this cloud of witnesses that Hebrews chapter 11 is. And then thirdly, it's the Father's discipline. Verses 5 to 11 is an expanded treatment of Proverbs 3, 11, and 12. It is an application and appeal to that text in the context of new covenant Christians to tell them how they are to run with endurance the race that is set before them. When you are doing that, and chastening comes your way, don't despise it, don't detest it, but rather embrace it. Receive it and understand that this is God's will for you, for His glory, and for your well-being. So look at Hebrews 12, verse 5. And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons. The Old Testament speaks authoritatively to the New Testament Christian. Charles Bridges says, we must not overlook the Apostle's testimony to the divine inspiration of the book, showing the instruction throughout to be the teaching of our Heavenly Father to His beloved children. You see, the Hebrew Christians, these believers, had in fact forgot Proverbs 3, 11 and 12. Notice what he says, verse 5, you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you, not as enemies, but as sons. See, this was a big problem with these people. They thought religion meant only good things, always. And the apostle says, you know better than that. There's hardships in this world, not only from without, but from within and from above. The Lord chastens, the Lord reproves, the Lord corrects. The Lord has a manifold way, a manifold, purposes in terms of, or uses or means rather, to keep you running with endurance the race that is set before you. And one of them is chastening, one of them is discipline, but these people had forgotten that. Now notice he appeals to Proverbs 3, 11 and 12, which speaks to you as to sons, my son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by him, for whom the Lord loves he chastens and scourges every son whom he receives." So he appeals specifically to this, and he assumes that the believer often forgets that there is a father-child relationship that obtains between the believer and his God. We need to understand that. The Word of God comes to us, it speaks to us, as to sons, adopted freely by the grace of God, granted faith and repentance, so that we may enter into the family of God, and therefore the Father is our Father. He is our father, brethren, and we need to remember that. So whatever comes his way or from his hand is for our good. Fathers don't give their children who are hungry stones. They don't give their children who are hungry scorpions. They give them good things. It may not be, you know, cakes and cookies and that sort of stuff, but they give them good things because there's that relationship that is born out of love. The author assumes that the believer, or what the believer often forgets, that the father disciplines his children. You see, when these things happen, the first response ought not to be, I can't believe that these things are happening to me. I just cannot believe it. Why can't you believe it? Have you ever read the Bible? Have you ever put your nose in the book? For anybody to ever say, I can't believe I'm experiencing such things in this world. My big question is, why would it have ever gotten to your head that that's the way things are? Why do you think you're in a Disney movie? Why do you think you're in a fairy tale? You think bluebirds are going to come and bear you up so that you can go to heaven with no hindrance, with no problem, with no pain, with no toil, with no suffering? That is not the emphasis in Holy Scripture. The Father carries us, to be sure. The Father also chastens us, and chastening, as the apostle will go on in a moment to say, in the time, the present, it's not joyful, but it's painful. It hurts, right? When you discipline your children, they don't typically have great big smiles on their faces. If they do, you're doing it wrong. If they do, you're doing it wrong. This is a painful process by which God conforms us more and more onto the image of his son who learned obedience through suffering. Christ learned obedience through suffering, certainly as those who are not Christ, we're gonna have to learn it in the same way. And the author emphasizes the particular thing that Solomon does in Proverbs 3. My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord. Don't despise it, don't balk at it, don't whine about it, don't grumble concerning it, certainly don't complain, and don't get angry or panic with God. Also, he says, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him. Don't get discouraged about that. In fact, if you understand what the apostle is saying in this particular chapter or section, you will see that the very chastening hand of God is confirmation that you're a child of God. This is why you can kiss the rod, because it's an evidence of the Father's love for you. This is a token given by God Himself that you are not illegitimate, that you are a legitimate, blood-bought child of God, adopted into His family, entitled to all of the privileges and as well to the chastening that comes from the hand of God for the good of His people. Notice, he says in verse 6, for whom the Lord loves, he chastens, he scourges every son whom he receives. And on this basis, he says, if you endure chastening, verse 7, God deals with you as with sons. For what son is there whom a father does not chasten? I love the way he just assumes this. I don't think he could assume this in our modern landscape. We don't ever want to ever inhibit a child from being anything that he or she wants to be. Brethren, it's our job to do that. If they want to be ax murderers, we need to step in and say, absolutely, positively not. We have a particular task that the apostle assumes. Notice that. If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons. For what son is there whom a father doesn't chase it? There's no such thing. It's like a unicorn. What son out there is there that a father doesn't chase it? If you withhold correction, or if you don't discipline your son, you hate him, according to Solomon in the book of Proverbs, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly. This is born out of love. We want the best for you, and this is why we're going to bring this discipline to bear on you. And God's way with his people is exactly and precisely the same. Notice in verse 8, but if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. See, these are the kinds of texts where people can read this and say, you know, everything's been going pretty good in my life. I wonder if I'm even saved. Well, don't do that. You're saved because you believe the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ by the grace of God. If you're not presently suffering under the chastening hand of God, it probably will come. I don't know when, but most likely it will come. There is discipline, there is correction for all of God's people. If it's not there right now, don't go out and jump into some sin so that God will chasten you. Don't use that sort of logic. That's not what you want to get out of this sermon, please. Don't go and do vile things and say, well, you know, I needed to make sure I was not illegitimate. I wanted to make sure I wasn't a bastard. I wanted to make sure that I was really a participant in the family of God. Do you see the apostles' argument? This is part and parcel of what it means to be a child in God's family. You get discipline. You go to the woodshed, you get on a line, he corrects you. Why? Because he loves you. He scourges every son whom he receives. That's the emphasis of the apostle. The presence of divine chastisement is the demonstration of God's fatherhood. The absence of divine chastisement evidences that there is no fatherhood for that particular person. Now, that's not to say that unbelievers don't get, you know, pain and problems and difficulties and hardships, to be sure. But in terms of the family of God, there are those instances and seasons where the Lord Most High gives us these things. Now, notice what Paul goes on to do. He compares God as Father to our earthly fathers, verse 9. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Isn't that what you do? If you don't, you need to. I mean, I guess if you're five, you haven't understood all the ins and outs. But when you're 15 or you're 25, you ought to come back to your parents and say, thank you that you didn't leave me to myself. Thank you that you love me enough to chasten me. Thank you that you love me enough to correct me. Thank you that you love me enough to bring a bit of pain at certain seasons in my life so that I didn't go out and do the vicious, vile, wicked, wretched things that I would have done. Don't we respect fathers? that do their job? Don't we respect mothers that function in the capacity that God instituted for them? Of course we do. That's the emphasis of the Apostle. But notice what he does. He goes from the lesser to the greater. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? If we respect earthly fathers who chastened us as they thought best for a season, shall we not praise God Almighty? Shall we not delight in God Almighty? Shall we not say that I have learned many things from this particular season to the woodshed and I'm thankful for the Lord for it? Have any of you, I don't want to have a show of hands or some group therapy session, but if you reflect upon your past, And you've gone through any difficulties or trials in your Christianity. You know you came out the better on the end, didn't you? You know that God's will had been done in conforming you further to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. There's a book title called Grace Grows Best in Winter. A ship that sails goes much further in the tempest and storm than when the sea is calm. That is just a fundamental principle in God's cosmos. There are seasons and instances where God takes us to the woodshed with the expressed purpose of conforming us unto the image of his beloved son. And if our earthly fathers do that and we respect them for it, we ought to respect Yahweh for his infinite wisdom in treating us in like manner. Notice what he goes on in verse 10 to say, for they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them. He's given a bit of a hat tip to the imperfections involved in the human father. All of us as fathers have made plenty of mistakes. I don't think any of us as fathers would say, yeah, I carried out my role of disciplinarian perfectly. I found that balance. I found that sweet spot. And it was great. Nobody does that. We did the best we could. And we didn't always do it right. A lot of trial, a lot of error. But notice what the apostles' argument. For they indeed for a few days, from childhood to maturity, But then notice, as seemed best to them, but he for our prophet. So while the earthly father does it inconsistently, the earthly father does it imperfectly, the earthly father does it for a few days, God does it perfectly, God does it consistently, and God does it from cradle to eternity. God has this down. God knows what he's doing when it comes to chastening and to correction for his people. He has perfected it. Not that he has perfected it. I speak in the manner of men. God doesn't ever get better at anything. But in terms of its effect upon us, it is a perfect process that he engages in. And then notice how the apostle sort of summarizes the entirety of the argument here. Verse 11, he gives us this no-brainer. Well, back to verse 10. He for our profit that we may be partakers of his holiness. You see, that's the result. That's the end game. That's the purpose. Why does God do what He's doing? Because He wants us to participate in His holiness. He wants us to be conformed to the image of His Son. He wants us to go from this glob of, you know, unformed clay into a living embodiment of one of Christ's people. That's His purpose. And then He summarizes it in verse 11. Now, no chastising seems to be joyful for the present, but painful. Again, we don't necessarily laugh when bad things happen to us because God's purposes are being realized. No, it's not pleasant at the time. It's painful, it hurts, it stings, but it yields fruit. There's benefit, there's good effect that comes as a result of God's training. Nevertheless, afterward, it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. That language of those who have been trained by it means it's not just a one-time shot. You're going to get one shot of discipline when you're, you know, four years into your Christian life, and that's going to satisfy for the rest of the time. No, you're trained by it. No earthly father treats his kids that way. Well, you know, you got the discipline once, now, you know, everything's corrected, and you just go on your merry little way. No, you're trained by it, and it's the same thing in God's school. We're trained by His chastening, by His correction. But it's not only that. We know that, right? I feel like I should qualify it. It's not all chastening. It's not all correction. It's great blessing. There's benefit. There's blessing and benefit in the chastening and correction. But brethren, there is a necessity for the training of God in this particular way, in this particular manner. So we see the exposition, Proverbs 3, 11 and 12, a real live application. in Hebrews chapter 12, verses 5 to 11. In conclusion, I want to highlight a few things for our consideration in a practical way. With reference to the chastening of God in the first place, correction is necessary in light of our remaining corruption. Chastening is necessary in light of our remaining corruption. Now, we are saved freely by God's grace. We believe the gospel by God's grace. We repent of our sins by God's grace. And we are in that state of having been saved. We are justified freely by His grace. And of course, justification then is the foundation place, or rather the next sort of phase is sanctification. And in that sanctification, that is where the Spirit is working in us to conform us unto the image of Jesus Christ. So justification is Christ's work for us. That's the status or the basis upon which we are accepted by God into heaven. But sanctification is a reality that always follows justification. And it's always the case that the Spirit is working in God's people to conform them unto the image of Christ. And as we move and live and have our being in this lower world, we face the reality of Romans 7, 13 to 25. The good that I wish to do, I don't do. The evil I don't want to do, I find myself doing. We find the reality of Galatians 5, 17. The spirit lusts against the flesh, the flesh lusts against the spirit. These two are contrary to one another so that you don't do the things that you want. That's a reality for God's people, isn't it? No one here should look surprised. You should have a yay and amen look on your face, right? You're all in Romans 7 and Galatians 5 with me. It's not just me that has faced this remaining corruption thing, is it? Somebody give me a nod of confidence that you're well, okay. And then we sing it. I think you sang it this morning in hymn 429. Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love. So how does God deal with us, his wayward sons, when we sin? When we express ourselves in terms of our remaining corruption, he chastens us, he corrects us. And you know what's really surprising? Is that it's not more severe. If you stop and think about it, in fact, Bridges makes this observation. He says, comparing our affliction with our sin is not the marvel that it is so light. It really isn't surprising that God corrects us or chastens us. What's surprising is that He doesn't do more, that He doesn't let us have it even more severely. And I'm not calling into question the infinite wisdom of God. I'm not doing that. I'm simply saying that if we understand our sin rightly, our remaining corruption correctly, it is intriguing that we're not more severely under the rod or chastening hand of God. Brother preached Psalm 130, verse three this morning. If you, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? What's he saying? He's saying that we're so bad. Now, remember, the man that penned that was David under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Now, certainly David had a few, you know, glitches or hitches in his road of sanctification, which I don't want to minimize, but David was a man after God's own art. David was an upright and holy man. David was conformed unto the image of Christ and yet David says if you should mark iniquities Oh Lord who can stand there's that scene in the book of Ezra Ezra chapter 9 where the people of Israel marry the pagans of the land and Ezra is basically confessing sin to God Almighty and he says and after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt since you our God have punished us less than our iniquities deserve You see, he understands correctly. If we got what we deserve, we would be in dire straits. Psalm 103, verse 10, he has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. Or there's the prophet Jeremiah in the book of Lamentations. He asks the question, why should a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins? I think the NASB captures it even better. Why should any living mortal or any man offer complaint in view of his sins? In other words, if you understand yourself rightly, how in the world, in God's moral cosmos, could you ever complain about any suffering or any hardship or any affliction that you might undergo? So correction is necessary in light of our remaining corruption. Secondly, by way of a practical application, correction confirms that we are the children of God. It's a blessed thing, isn't it? You want to know that you have legitimacy in the house of God? Well, again, first and foremost, it's faith in our Lord Jesus. It's believing the gospel. If you believe in your heart, confess with your mouth, you are saved. That's the beauty of Christianity. It's not a workspace religion. It's not a do better, try harder. And if you are successful at the end, then God will allow you entrance into his kingdom. That's not it. by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. That's legitimacy. But in terms of our lives of sanctification, the chastening hand of God, the correction that comes from him, evidences that we are legitimate children. We are co-heirs with our Lord Jesus Christ. Thirdly, correction is a necessary part of being the children of God. You get that, right? It's a necessary part of being the children of God. Every son he receives, he scourges. It's a necessary part of being a child of God. So therefore, we are forbidden, we are prohibited from despising it. We are forbidden from being discouraged by it, and we are forbidden from detesting it. We are to embrace what God has given and see His hand of mercy in it. Fourthly, correction is painful now, but it yields good fruit. That emphasis of the Apostle in Hebrews 12. Hebrews 12 is probably the best sort of application, best explanation of Proverbs 3, 11 and 12 that one could find. But in verse 11, I know chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful. Nevertheless, afterward, it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. And I would add one other thing, comes from a different context, comes from a different place, but I would phrase it this way. Correction's pain now is significantly less than glory's joy later. Let me just repeat that. Correction's pain now is significantly less than glory's joy later. Turn to 2 Corinthians 4. 2 Corinthians 4. Beginning in verse 16, therefore, we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing yet, the inward man is being renewed day by day for our light affliction, which is but for a moment, that momentary light affliction. See, we're in the midst of it, we're steeped in it, and it seems like forever. It seems like all I ever do is suffer, all I ever do is get chastened, all I ever do is have affliction. Paul says, no, it's a momentary light affliction. It's passing. This isn't your eternal spot. This isn't your eternal lot in life. He says, our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Correction's pain now is significantly less than glory's joy later. That's his emphasis. Verse 18, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. So that's a perspective I think as the people of God we ought to embrace with reference to the Father's correction. But finally, in terms of the purpose of the Father, we ought never to forget that the chastening hand of God is born out of love. It's for love that He does this. It's for love that He corrects us. It's for love that whatever pain we are currently experiencing is there. Now, we may not always appropriate it at the moment like we should. That's why I think passages like these are helpful for reflection upon in the lives of Christians on a regular basis. But brethren, God's chastening of his people is born out of love. Secondly, the chastening of the Lord is characteristic of his paternal care for his children. Just as he carried Israel in the wilderness, so he chastened Israel in the wilderness because they needed to learn lessons. Just as He carries us now from day to day, so He chastens us now at times from day to day. Why? Because we need to learn the lessons. Thirdly, the chastening of the Lord is ultimately for our good. Go to Romans 8.28 for just a moment. Romans 8.28, probably the most popular among Christians. I think John 3.16 is probably the most popular among all people. But Romans 8.28 is a very popular and famous text, and well it should be. But notice what he says in verse 28. We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom He predestined, these He also called. Whom He called, these He also justified. And whom He justified, these He also glorified. What we might call the ordo salutis, the order of salvation, the golden chain of salvation. It's a beautiful, sort of display of what God does in terms of saving his elect by Jesus Christ. But notice in verse 28, we know that God, or all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose. We know that because of what goes on in verses 29 and 30. We know verse 28 is a legitimate and appropriate implication from the reality that God foreknew, that God predestined, that God called, that God justified, and that God will glorify. If God is going to do that for His elect, then He's certainly going to work everything out for their good. That is a no-brainer. In fact, look at what He says in verse 32. He says, he who did not spare his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? If he didn't spare Jesus at Golgotha, is he gonna forget you on Thursday? If he didn't spare Jesus at Calvary, is he gonna abandon you in your time of need? Paul's argument is absolutely positively not. He argues from the greater, the lesser. If he delivers up his son for you, he's gonna deliver you on Tuesday. It's going to give you the grace and the help and the strength and the wisdom that you need to navigate through whatever circumstances you find yourselves in. And with reference to verse 28, for Paul to say, we know all things work together for good to those who love God. He's talking about bad things. We do not need to be convinced that finding bags of money work for good. We do not need to be convinced that sitting on a beach in Mexico is good. We don't need to be convinced that promotions at work are good. We don't need to be convinced of those things. In the context, he is essentially saying, we know that bad things, horrible things, terrible things, the worst of things work for good. To those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose. Well, how do we know that, Paul? Because He foreknew us, He predestined us, He called us, He justified us, and He will glorify us. If He has undertaken on our behalf to do all of that, then certainly whatever comes your way is ultimately ordained by God for His glory and for your good. There is great encouragement in the Bible for the suffering saints of Jesus Christ, for the suffering saints of God Almighty. The chastening of the Lord is ultimately designed to conform us unto Jesus, that we may share in His holiness, that we may yield those good fruits of righteousness, that we may indeed bear forth the blessed image of the Lord Jesus Christ in our lives. Well, as I said, part two of James 1, 2-8. James 1, 2-8 is another passage that I would encourage all of you, if you weren't there on Wednesday night, to get into that particular passage, to think through the doctrine of afflictions and testings and chastening that comes from God, and to realize, with Paul in Romans 8-28, that all these things work for good. All these things are ordained by God for the good of His people, to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Well, let us close in a word of prayer. Father, we thank you for this word. We thank you for the encouragement that we have concerning your paternal care for your people. And we know that that does involve you carrying us day by day. And we know that it involves correction and chastening and discipline. And God, help us to not despise it. Help us not to detest that correction, but help us to reflect upon the love that you have for us and your design. in promoting Christ-likeness in each of our hearts and in our lives. I pray that you would go with us now, that you would watch over us in this coming week, that you would grant us grace to be faithful witnesses to you in this world. And we pray these things through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.